Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Florida Bankruptcy Chapter 13 Attorney

BENEFITS: Bankruptcy in Chapter 13 will provide you with the debt relief you need and give you a fresh start without being hounded by your creditors and debt collectors and without being tormented by the lawsuits they file against you. It will also stop creditors from taking away your possession, assets, and income if they obtain a Judgment against you and begin to execute (collect) on the Judgment by garnishing your wages or levying/attaching (take away) your assets and possessions. As soon as you file bankruptcy the law called the automatic stay will stop all collections and phone calls, collection letters, and any garnishments and protect your assets and possessions from the levies, even your secured assets. Creditors who are secured can ask the bankruptcy court to obtain relief from the automatic stay and then start repossessing their secured asset if you are not current on the monthly payments, but the automatic stay can delay their repossession/foreclosure actions for several weeks or months. That could give you time to catch up on the payments or do what you need to do to obtain some assets or income. Call us Now at (239) 542-2002.

FUTURE CREDIT: Some people worry that filing for bankruptcy will ruin their credit rating and hurt their financial future. It is important to remember that defaulting loans, late credit card payments or suffering through repossessions can hurt your credit rating as much as, or more than, filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can give you the chance for a fresh financial start by discharging most of all kinds of debts. Having less debts is a big plus on your credit score. Many people obtain credit after bankruptcy within two years or less and most of the time within a year or less. The interest rate may be a little higher, but perhaps not. It depends on the type of loan you seek and the type of creditor, your income and many other factors. Certain creditors will not want to see you for a few years before considering you, such as some mortgage companies, but every creditor is different. Creditors usually view Chapter 13 filers less harshly than those who file Chapter 7 since the creditors received a portion of their money back. Although you can file another Chapter 13 as soon as your prior Chapter 13 case is completed the creditors know that it will take time for you to build up debts again and they will have a fresh chance to evaluate your potential to pay them back or their risk of you filing bankruptcy again. So most people would take years to build up enough debts where they would have to file bankruptcy again. Thus, the creditors know they have a few years to collect any new credit they give to you and collect their interest from you, and this means some creditors are very willing to give you credit after Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Also, since one can only obtain a Chapter 7 discharge of debts once every 8 years after a prior Chapter 7 then the creditors know they have 8 years to collect on any loans or credit they provide to you. Thus, they are more likely to provide credit to you based on their 8 years of protection (and 4 years until you can obtain a Chapter 13 discharge after a prior Chapter 7 discharge).

FEARS & FALSE PERCEPTIONS: Many people are terrified about considering filing for personal bankruptcy based on their perceptions of what bankruptcy is and they feel like they would become a failure in life. Some people view bankruptcy as being about one step away from being something morally evil. However, I remind my clients that the vast majority of people I see filing bankruptcy are filing due to circumstances beyond their control. They want to pay their debts but something happened and now they are not able to pay their debts. In the last few years millions of Americans had to file bankruptcy far above the normal amounts of cases, so you are not alone. Some feel like they would be stealing from the creditors but most of the commercial creditors have already made their money off people or they can protect their interests on various ways. Credit cards charge very high interest rates and they already made their money off of you. Some obtain their secured assets back; some receive government bailouts or grants, which is your money being stolen from you by your government and given to private businesses who are your creditors. Most commercial creditors are not being ripped off when one individual files for bankruptcy. If you do not file bankruptcy you may not survive, but if you do file the business creditors will easily survive and they will not be hurt much at all. You will survive also and save yourself from drowning in debt.In this slow and troubling economy, millions of honest hard working people have found themselves facing what seems like insurmountable debt and endless attacks and phone call from their creditors. When the creditors start filing suit against you or increase the harassing telephone calls and collection efforts against you and demand that you pay them far beyond your ability to pay them, it may be time to stop the lawsuits, phone calls, and attacks by discovering whether you should file chapter 13 bankruptcy against them. Call us Today at (239) 542-2002.

IS BANKRUPTCY MORALLY EVIL?: Some people view bankruptcy as being about one step away from being morally evil. Bankruptcy could not be morally evil when bankruptcies were commanded by God to Israel in the Old Testament (see Deut. 15). Every seven (7) years ALL debts in the entire nation were to be cancelled in Israel. God told the creditors to cancel the debts and He would greatly bless them more than they lost. The point is that it is good to be debt free and have creditors who care about other people. Some creditors do not care if your next home is under a bridge as long as they get their money to make another billion or two for their company. Getting a fresh start and being debt free is a great blessing and will eliminate much of your stress and worries and give you some peace of mind so you can live again.

BANKRUPTCY ASSET PROTECTION PLANNING SESSION: The Law Firm of Raymond Mitchell will help you understand Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the benefits and potential negatives, the process, the options you may have, and how it would apply to you in your situation. We offer you a thorough and valuable but totally free Debt Relief & Asset Protection Planning Session (valued at $300) to analyze your circumstances and educate you so that you will understand how it works and whether you should file chapter 13 bankruptcy. Call us to set up an appointment for your free in-depth Bankruptcy Asset Protection Planning Session so you will understand how to keep your assets and possessions while you eliminate most or all of your debts and approximately how much your monthly payment would be in a Chapter 13 payment Plan. If you do decide to file we will lead and guide you through the process of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy so you can stop the creditor attacks via the automatic stay and get yourself out of those troubles and debts. Call us Now at (239) 542-2002.

If you have any questions about filing for bankruptcy or see how you situation in bankruptcy would help you , contact the Law Firm of Raymond Mitchell for your valuable but totally free Bankruptcy Asset Protection Planning Session* (valued at $300) so you can understand how to protect your assets as much as possible, obtain debt relief, and stop the creditor harassment calls and letters. Call us Today at (239) 542-2002.

Individuals considering filing for bankruptcy have several questions that need to be answered, including:

Can I file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

Which debts are going to get cancelled or discharged, and when are they discharged?

Will I be able to keep my assets?

How much are the monthly payments in a 13 Plan?

Can I save my house and restructure my mortgage payment plan?

Can I eliminate my second mortgage/lien on my house and strip the lien off of my home/property?

Can I cram down the loan on my vehicle down to the value of the vehicle?

Can I pay off tax debts/IRS in Chapter 13 without any interest, penalties, or interest?

What happens if something happens or changes in the middle of the payment plan?

How will my business be affected?

Call/Contact the Law Firm of Raymond Mitchell [(239) 542-2002] for your valuable but totally free Bankruptcy Asset Protection Planning Session* (valued at $300) to protect your assets as much as possible, obtain debt relief and stop the creditor harassment calls and letters.

Facts About Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

There are many things you should understand about Chapter 13, including:

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a debt repayment plan where most people only have to pay a small part of their unsecured debts (Usually only 5%-50% is paid via monthly payments and the remaining 50%-95% is cancelled and discharged after the payment plan is completed in either 3 or sometimes 5 years). The monthly payment to the unsecured creditors for many people ranges only between $75 to $300 per month. Of course, everyone is different and some pay $500 or more per month. All disposable income is paid to the unsecured creditors during the payment plan.

The good news is that you keep ALL of your assets and possessions in Chapter 13 bankruptcy if you want to keep them. Some people want to surrender secured assets, such as homes or vehicles, because they do not want to pay the debts/liabilties on them to keep those assets. However, if you have too many unexempt assets that could raise your monthly payments.

The monthly payments and total percentage of unsecured debts paid are basically determined by your disposable income (Income minus Expenses). It can be determined by the complicated Means Test form or a simple Income and Expense form called Schedule I & J, but it could be effected by the amount of your unexempt assets. You will have exempt assets and perhaps some unexempt assets.

The repayment plan duration is usually either three or five years.

Any unsecured debt that remains after the duration of the repayment Plan will be discharged.

You can strip off certain second mortgages on your homestead meaning you would not have to pay the second mortgage, it would be discharged, and the lien can be stripped off of your home/land. You can cram down car/vehicle loans down to the value of the car/vehicle in Chapter 13, and possibly lower interest rates on their loans. Some people can cram down first mortgages and modify interest rates on homes that are not their homestead, such as rental properties they own.

You can pay off income taxes without any additional interest, penalties, or late charges by the IRS in a Chapter 13 payment Plan and keep the IRS off of your back for up to five years. The Automatic Stay will keep the IRS from levying (stealing) the money in your bank account, taking away your cars and homes, and ruining your lives.

You can catch up on late payments on your home mortgage or car loans in Chapter 13 and force secured creditors to allow you to get your payments current with them during the 3-5 year plan and the secured creditors usually cannot stop it or argue against it. The bankruptcy court will force them to allow you to get caught up on late payments and become current so that they cannot foreclose your home or repossess their vehicle.

Often people can stop foreclosures of their homes so that they can keep their home in Chapter 13.

If your income is too high (based on the Means Test) you cannot file Chapter 7 and your only choice would be Chapter 13. (There is a Chapter 11 & 12 which very rarely is a chapter that anyone would want. Chapter 11 is for people with total debts well over one million dollars and is very expensive, and Chapter 12 is for fisherman or farmers and is very similar to a Chapter 13 case for them.)

Most people benefit from the Automatic Stay for 3-5 years which stops all collections activities and lawsuits against you, although secured creditors can ask the bankruptcy court for relief from the Stay during the bankruptcy case and whether it is granted is left to the opinion and judgment of the judge and whether you would oppose their request for relief.

You can always modify the Plan if something changes while the Plan is pending before the Plan payments have been completed.

You also can always switch and convert from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 or any other chapter without any problems if something changes in the middle of the case (the first conversion).

In Chapter 13 you have the right to dismiss the case at anytime before it is closed and completed and no one can legally stop you from doing so if for some reason you want to cancel and dismiss. (In a Chapter 7 case one must seek the approval of the Court before dismissing the case.)

(Personal Property assets are all assets and possessions that are not real estate [land and buildings].)

Call us Now at (239) 542-2002.

FLORIDA EXEMPTIONS: The basic exemptions in Florida for each debtor (married couples double these when both file together) are any Retirement, Social Security & Pension investments, Disability & Workers Compensation payments, the cash value of Life Insurance or Annuities, the Homestead Exemption (unlimited if owned over 3.33 years, if owned less then capped at $155,875 of equity), $1000 wildcard personal property exemption, $1000 vehicle exemption, and an additional $4000 personal property exemption wildcard if you do not claim a homestead exemption, and possibly Tenancy by the Entirety exemption for married filers if only one spouse files (for Married Joint assets), medical & health aids, among others.

OTHER STATES OR FEDERAL EXEMPTIONS: If you have lived in Florida for less than two years when you file bankruptcy then you would file here in Florida but would use the exemption laws of another state that you lived in before but depending on that state’s laws you may have to use federal bankruptcy exemptions. Federal exemptions are very generous providing about $30,000 +/- of personal property exemptions to each filer, but only $22,975 of equity in your homestead exemption. The other states have various and different exemptions and laws but most states have personal property exemptions much greater than Florida where you will get only $6000 or $2000 (with a vehicle) depending on whether you claim the homestead exemption in the bankruptcy case or not. In many states one will have from $10,000 to $50,000 of personal property exemptions.

If you have any questions about filing for bankruptcy or see how you situation in bankruptcy would help you , call the Law Firm of Raymond Mitchell for your valuable but totally free Bankruptcy Asset Protection Planning Session* (valued at $300) so you can understand how to protect your assets as much as possible, obtain debt relief, and stop the creditor harassment calls and letters. Call us Now at (239) 542-2002.

* For cases not yet filed or near the beginning of the case in our judgment, or a trial has been set and you are seeking an attorney for the trial in our judgment. See Attorneys for more information.